Polycomb group (PcG) and trithorax group (trxG) proteins are key regulators of homeotic genes and have crucial roles in cell proliferation, growth and development. PcG and trxG proteins form higher order protein complexes that contain SET domain proteins, with a histone methyltransferase (HMTase) activity, responsible for the different types of lysine methylation at the N-terminal tails of the ...

The Polycomb Group (PcG) protein EZH2 is a critical component of a multiprotein complex that methylates Lys(27) of histone 3 (H3K27), which consequently leads to the repression of target gene expression. We have previously reported that EZH2 is overexpressed in metastatic prostate cancer and is a marker of aggressive diseases in clinically localized solid tumors. However, the global set of gene...

PURPOSE To assess whether loci other than GLC3A, GLC3B, and GLC3C are linked to primary congenital glaucoma (PCG). METHODS The gene CYP1B1 at GLC3A was screened in 19 Iranian PCG probands who had been recruited mostly from among individuals of Turkish ethnicity and individuals from central and eastern Iran. The gene MYOC was screened in patients from this cohort who lacked CYP1B1 mutations an...

It has been perplexing that DNA topoisomerases, enzymes that release DNA supercoils, play specific roles in development. In this study, using a floral stem cell model in Arabidopsis thaliana, we uncovered a role for TOPOISOMERASE1α (TOP1α) in Polycomb Group (PcG) protein-mediated histone 3 lysine 27 trimethylation (H3K27me3) at, and transcriptional repression of, the stem cell maintenance gene ...

Polycomb group proteins (PcG) are a group of transcriptional repressors that silence gene transcription through covalent modification of histone proteins and compaction of chromatin at target genes. In metazoans, PcG proteins are present in all cells of the body and at all stages of development, but they repress target genes only in cells where these genes should remain inactive. Work over the ...

Polycomb group (PcG) proteins are major determinants of gene silencing and epigenetic 1 memory in higher eukaryotes. Here, we used a robust affinity purification mass spec2 trometry (AP-MS) approach to systematically map the human PcG protein interactome, 3 uncovering an unprecedented breadth of PcG complexes. The obtained high density 4 protein interaction data identified new modes of combinat...

Dietary intake of bioactive phytochemicals including the cruciferous vegetable derivative phenethyl isothiocyanate (PEITC) can reduce risk of human cancers, but possible epigenetic mechanisms of these effects are yet unknown. We therefore sought to identify the molecular basis of PEITC-mediated epigenetic tumor restriction. Colon cancer cells treated with low-dose PEITC for >1 month exhibited s...

heterochromatic-like structures, including deacetyla-tion and methylation of histone tails (Francis and Kings-ton, 2001). Of the two distinct complexes formed by the PcG proteins, the ESC-E(Z) complex associates with Summary histone deacetylases and the SET domain of E(Z) possesses H3 specific methyltransferase activity, while the Epigenetic silencing of Hox cluster genes by Polycomb group (PcG...

The role of rat organic anion transporter 3 (rOat3; Slc22a8) in the efflux transport at the blood-brain barrier (BBB) was characterized. The expression of rOat1, rOat2, and rOat3 in the brain capillary endothelial cells (BCEC) was examined using reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis, which showed that there was no expression of rOat1 or rOat2, but moderate expression of rOat3...